The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-07-20

people almost ceased to think or speak Of it,.
4 few individuals however. whose zeal and
confidence never abated, kept 1t alive by
ceaSeleSS agitation.
A printing press was bought In 1875, and the
New Fra" published, mainly for the purpose
Of fostering this enterprise Its columns con-
tinually urged the necessity OF the construc-
ton of this road, claiming that the contrlbu-
ton of one-half of the real estate OF the town
ships through which the road ran would be
better than to retain it and lose the road.
Frequent meetings were annOunceda at It's own
suggestion, along the line, at which there were
usually ten or fifteen persons present from
the Immediate neighborhood. attracted by q
desire 10 see and hear "what was up Great
enthusiasm was always reported, and strong
resolution adopted. Those were the pulsa.
tions o: an otherwise lifclcss enterprise. In
this way IL was kept alive four years, amid
the jeecs and ridicule of an unsympathslng
public, till Mt last, as If in desperation, 1t
sprang into life.
At meeting held in Aiken's hall. In which
there were about thirty stockholders, II was
resolved to employ 1OO convicts and enter inn
mediately upon the construction Of the road.
At that time there was not more than 81 800
available funds, which was barely sufficient
10 purchase the ordinary implements for grad
ing, and defray the expense Of transporting
the convictS. Favorable terms wero made
with the State by which she was to receive
stock IN the road for her convict labor; hav-
ing thus secured the necessary labor, and pro-
vided the implements for work,
DIRT WAS FIRST BROKEN
at the stockade three miles west of Green
wood by DR.. E. r. Calhoun of this town, Gen.
P. II. Bradley President Of the company and
Hon. George d. Tillman in the presence of q
large concourse of citizens assembled to inau-
gurate an enterprise which they regarded as
exclusively their own, and the success OF
which depended on themselves. From that
time the work went on without interruption.
were in the pockets and smoke houses Of the
individual stockholders, from which supplies
were drawn as they were needed. Their
wives and daughters made the clothing for
the convicts. The merchants of Greenwood
contributed literally when called on. At this
time there was not the slightest idea on the
part Of the public that the road would be
built. They could not conceive how Green
the single instanee Of the Abbepilte Medium,
whose intultive perception saw the end from
the beginning, not friendly voice or word OF
encouragement was ever offered: The work
progressed, and with its progress began efforts
TO obstruct 1t, spies were sent to watch the
treatment OF the convicts, and to drum up
charges of inhumanity and cruelty; The
moral sense of the whole State was shocked
at the horrible details fabricated by these Sc.
cretagents. The State authorities ordered the
immediate return of the convicts to the walls
of the pen jteJ tiary, but the same wisdom and
intelligence which had steered the enterprise
safely thus far, conscious OF innocence, were
able to comprehend the fact that even the
State was bound by the terms Of her contract
the State was thus arrayed against il: it was
charged In certain localities that "the road
was not running in the right direction" Eff
forts were made to divert It from its objective
point, but all in vain. 1t was declared'to be q
"CHILD OF DESTINY
and no power could stop it. During the pro-
SrcSs CT lis construction Augusta looked on
with provoking patience, not knowing wheth.
er most to admire the energy and push Of Its
projectors, or the magnitude OF the underlak,
OF non-intcrvention. She placed no obstacle
in the way of its progress, but viewed 1t rath.
er !nvltingly. When finished to the Savan.
nah river 1t was consolidated with the Geor-
and Knoxville lie Railway Company, and by the
aid of Augusta it was soon put into operation
Greenwood was daZed by what she had
done. For three years after the completion
OF the Augusta & Knoxville road not trace
OF Improvement in the town was visible
Sho stood MS If paralizcd by the results. The
public had not expected success and, there.
| fore, no boom attended the event The great
reduction in her rates Of freight, enabled her
merchants to offer such favorable terms that
| her trade rapidly increased within this period
and she began to attract public attention
| Laurens and Spartanburg counties awoke to
| the importance OF connection with her, and
soon
THE GREENWOOD, LAURESs AND SPARTAN
BURG RAILROAD
very different, however, from that in which
the Greenwood & Augusta road was built.
The people OF those counties could not fore
| 60 the benefit 20 be derived from con nection
with her. They first determined, at rail
! road con ven ton held ut Laurcns Court House
| in 1878, to which delegates were invited from
Greenville, Greenwood, Nlnety-SiX and Edge
field, to build road via the latter places tc
Augusta. after listening as they said
through their spokesman the present Chief
Justice, "lo the rattling OF the dirt on the
Greenwood IL Augusta road; TO the magnlfi
cent prospects presented by Grocnville for
! opening up direct communication with the
| ineXluuStible granarieS Of the northwest
through the Blue Ridge, and then hearing the
patriotic appeals of gallant old Edgefield lol
! Il route which would lie wholly within the
State and terminate in the city by the sea
they were impelled toaccept the latter" This
scheme. as then predicted, was never heard
of again.
In the meanwhile Greenwood was reap.
| Ing the benefits of her enterprise. She
was paying as much for cotton, and sold heI
groceries as cheaply as they could be bought
| in Charleston or Augusta: cotton came to her
market from every part Of Laurens and Edge
! fold counties. Laurens decided TO change
her route, and uniting with Spartanburs, set
about the immediate construction OF this
bonds on their respective counties. In this
way they provided the means to grade the
road, and then transferred it to the Augusta &
Knoxville railroad to complete and operate
OF debt was imposed on Abheville county.
nor on any of her townships, for the construc-
tion Of the Greenwood Augusta railroad
| 1t was predicted by many that the Green,
| wood, Laurens i Spartanburg road would
make Greenwood mere station and take
away her special advantages; but she saw In
1t. the expansion OF her own work, and the
extension of her trade. Then followed In
rapid succession, the construction OF the IIau.
rens & Greenville and the Savannah valley
roads, thus forming an extensive system OF
roads in upper Carolina, all the direct and
legitimate result Of her work in building the
Greenwood Il Augsuta road, without which
the former would probably never have been
built.
in 1854 Greenwood inaugurated, through
her representative In tho Legislature, an
other scheme In the
CHESTER, GREENWOOD AND ABBEvILLE RAIL
ROAD.
The charter for this road was not perfected
till the session of 1885, and during the inte.
rim she conceived the idea of extending 1t
East and West to the Georgia ana North Cnr-
ollna lines 10 connect with extensions 10
those States. The proposition assumed gi-
gantic proportions and rapidly developed into
an Interstate enterprise SO universally
popular was this scheme that North Car
olira and Georgia at once adopted IL; the
three States consolidated their lines into
what Is now known as the Georgia., Carolina
& Northern railroad company; the entire
route Is surveyed from Monroe to Atlanta,
It is the determination OF this company,
rich and powerful rs 1t Is, TO complete this
road from Monroe to Atlanta by the fall OF
1855
she obtained n charter for the
GREENWOOD, PHOENIX & EDGEFIELD RAIL
which will be built at al early day. In view
of what Greenwood has already done, none
need doubt her ability and determination to